Thomas Edison’s phonograph company came out with a line of groundbreaking “talking” dolls in 1890. They lasted only six weeks before being yanked from stores, because the dolls sound like the risen Satan singing a lullaby. Now with the help of new technology, you too can listen to the dolls’ voices and never be at… »5/05/15 5:40pm 5/05/15 5:40pm

Everybody knows that Nikola Tesla was a genius. But with all the attention being paid to Tesla here in the 21st century, many kids today must wonder what happened to his rival, Thomas Edison. Well, soon everybody will have a chance to tinker with technology history by putting their (fake) money behind inventors like… »3/20/15 2:26pm 3/20/15 2:26pm

Today tech companies are infamous for asking silly questions at job interviews. How would I move Mount Fuji? If I knew that I probably wouldn't be sitting here for this job interview, would I, Microsoft? »3/12/15 12:47pm 3/12/15 12:47pm

Why did Southern California become the epicenter of the American film industry? The nice weather certainly helped. But there's another element that modern Hollywood probably hopes you'd forget: Rampant piracy. Even though it was just the piracy of movie camera tech rather than the Jack Sparrow variety, there were… »1/29/15 4:15pm 1/29/15 4:15pm

Lower Manhattan of the 1880s was a wonderland of futuristic technology and engineering: The city's first cable car arced over the harbor. A spindly new steel bridge was forming to connect Williamsburg to the city. And on the Lower East Side, Edison was tearing up the streets to build the first permanent power… »1/26/15 4:13pm 1/26/15 4:13pm

Christmas lights are a uniquely American tradition. That's not just because the first electric Christmas lights appeared in America. The tradition embodies a certain American-ness, an ingenuity and hunger for innovation, that's easily overlooked. America doesn't just make things. America makes things spectacular.»12/24/14 10:01am 12/24/14 10:01am

Former Fox News TV personality Glenn Beck is really sick of talking about politics. So what rustles his jimmies these days? The mythologized feud between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. Beck even has a movie in production about Edison that he hopes will "expose the truth" about this "bad man." »3/10/14 12:40pm 3/10/14 12:40pm

Thomas Edison is remembered for his contributions to many great innovations, including the phonograph, the light bulb, and the movie camera. But few people today remember one of his most spectacular failures: a talking doll that was the must-have Christmas toy in 1890. There was just one little problem with the… »10/07/13 5:22pm 10/07/13 5:22pm

Mike Rugnetta over at the PBS Idea Channel has an interesting video about how popular history is made. Specifically, our popular understanding of the late inventor (and internet folk hero) Nikola Tesla. He argues that there are essentially two Teslas: The historical Tesla who did things like promote eugenics, and had… »9/13/13 2:24pm 9/13/13 2:24pm

This is the oldest recording of an American voice and the first-ever recording of a musical performance. Recorded by a Thomas Edison-invented phonograph in 1878, the audio recording (which lasts 78 seconds) is pretty much "as far back as we can go" in terms of the history of recorded sound. »10/25/12 10:00pm 10/25/12 10:00pm

Did you know that Thomas Edison got his first job as a telegraph operator after saving the daughter of a station agent from an oncoming train? Or that he didn't invent the lightbulb, but instead created the first commercially viable version? »2/11/12 1:00pm 2/11/12 1:00pm

Before our Christmas tree lighting needs were taken care of with $25 and a trip to Target, creating the atmosphere meant placing candles—wax towers topped with fire—onto seasonal kindling. Think it's frightening now when your dog tugs a branch? Just imagine your living room bursting into flames for the sake of… »12/08/11 8:00pm 12/08/11 8:00pm

The bridge was only 16-years-old when Edison shot this video from a BMT train crossing to Manhattan. It may not be HD, or 3D, or whatever fancy-format you kids like these days, but it takes me right back. [KottkeviaBoingBoing] »11/05/10 8:20pm 11/05/10 8:20pm

You can't blame the people of 1920 for falling for Edison's practical joke. After all, this was the man who invented the light bulb! When he told a magazine he'd invented a phone that communicates with spirits, hysteria understandably ensued. »10/29/10 2:40pm 10/29/10 2:40pm

Thomas Edison was not an inventor for the love of the game. "I always invented to obtain money to go on inventing," he said. For a tireless mind like that, a lab had to be far more than a lab. »8/28/10 9:00am 8/28/10 9:00am

There's little action, no sound, and the footage is grainy. But this brief clip may be the only existing video of writer Mark Twain and his daughters Clara and Jean. It was captured in 1909 by inventor Thomas Edison. »3/18/10 7:00pm 3/18/10 7:00pm